Capturing Dreamscape Ocean Photos with a ND Filter in Pacific Grove California
What is a neutral density (ND) filter and why am I so excited to finally own one?? Well, it is a piece of glass that screws onto the front of a camera lens that is like a very, very dark pair of sunglasses. The ND filter greatly restricts how much light comes through the lens, onto the camera sensor. Using typical daylight or twilight camera shooting settings, the ND filter would result in just a black rectangle, totally underexposed! However, this then allows the photographer to keep the shutter open for a long time, for a long exposure photo which means, the moving ocean water becomes like cotton candy. Clouds get spread out across the sky. That is how I was able to make these photos you see here, by leaving the shutter open for 30 seconds. Without the ND filter on, the photos would just be white rectangles, totally overexposed. So I call these types of photos not merely landscape photography, but I think more descriptively, dreamscape photography. Then again, I am a daydreamer!
Creative high desert rural land real estate photography in Socorro County New Mexico
To be a good rural land real estate photographer in New Mexico, one must be able to often make something out of nothing. Maybe there is a distant mountain or mesa, maybe there are good clouds, but the desert land itself, is often just dry grass and thorny bushes. I use these, for low angle shots and incorporate the dry grass into the foreground to make a more creative and eye catching photo of what otherwise would be just a flat, sparse landscape. Thankfully at this rural land photo shoot in Socorro County, New Mexico, the clouds were fantastic and the sunset pretty good to add some style to the photos.
On the drive to Alamogordo, New Mexico, a stop at the Valley of Fires is always a must for me, even if just for a few minutes. Any chance to behold lava as far as the eye can see is special. On this particular visit, for the first time, I walked the entire paved loop into the main lava field. What I saw from that view that I could not from high above, are all the fissures in the lava surface that conceal small lava caves below. Fascinating in another regard is how plants of all kinds grow in each crack, groove, and rupture in the lava surface. What an amazing place. Check out the map below to plan your trip to the Valley of Fires.
Farewell to a loyal friend in the Jeep Renegade Trailhawk
It is the end of an era in vehicle ownership for me, as I have had the last adventure in my beloved Jeep Renegade Trailhawk. What started in March of 2019 and took me on 73,000 miles all over New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah, comes to a conclusion in February 2022. In all those miles the Jeep never let me down once, not on road or offroad. It is very bittersweet selling it, just like it was selling the Mazda3 I had before the Jeep. I guess this is the way it goes. In the last two months though, the Jeep went out in style driving on the national seashore in Corpus Christi, up to the top of a mountain in Tucson, and on the snow in Valles Caldera National Preserve with four people and three dogs in it! Just like the Mazda3 got me and Kiki out of Florida, and the Jeep was at the heart of desert adventure in New Mexico, perhaps the next vehicle will take us to the completion of our journey all the way to where the Road meets the Sea.
Not quite as large as I imagined the Very Large Array to be
The Very Large Array was one site I had not been able to get to before in my 4.5 years traveling all over New Mexico for my photography work and on drives with the BMW Club. Well, the latter finally brought me to the Very Large Array Rest Site where I was able to actually see the array in action. While standing there, the huge dishes all started rotating in unison. However, they were not as big as I imagined them to be, nor was there any one central giant mothership type dish. Still, it was very cool to finally see the array and for once, the clouds were amazing when I visit one of these New Mexico True sites.
Telephoto Dreamscape Views of Sand Dunes in Colorado
This is my second series of photos from Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado (wide angle first series here), this time featuring all images made with a telephoto lens (Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master). You may think for landscape photography that automatically it’s best to use a wide angle lens. Many times that is the case, but when you are very far from the subject, even a very large subject like sand dunes, a telephoto lens can bring you in close, and produce a unique looking landscape image. As I was driving in to Sand Dunes National Park, I thought the sand dunes themselves looked fake, like CGI. There were this soft focus, creamy aberration before more solid, corporeal mountains. As I was leaving the park, I pulled over and took out the telephoto lens to capture these dreamscape like images. Tell me the sand dunes do not look like they were put into the photos as digitally created features?
Hidden Gem of a mountain lake in northern New Mexico
New Mexico has dual environmental personalities. The lower half of the state is mostly sand and baron. The upper half, is mostly mountainous and tree covered. So when you think New Mexico is a desert state, it’s hard to also picture that there is a place like Eagle Nest Lake State Park that is a mountain lake surrounded by tall grass and other flora. Hiking paths will take you all around the lake with pivoting views of different mountains. This is a place to come and cool off from the extreme summer heat. It was only 74F for a high on this day in late August! Check out the map below to visit this hidden gem mountain lake oasis.
